My postcard: Downton Abbey Exhibition at Biltmore Estate in Asheville

Starting the beginning of November Biltmore Estate in Asheville presents the exhibition of

Downton Abbey.

The nationally touring exhibition shows costumes from the original television series

and the recent film adaptation. There is also the new multimedia display features

the post-Edwardian time in England.

This new exhibit is in two locations on the estate: Amherst at Deerpark and the Biltmore Legacy
in Antler Hill Village

The exhibition at the Amherst at Deerpark features the multimedia elements and the series' most recognizable sets and artifacts.

There are the recreations of Mrs. Patmore's kitchen, the servants' quarters, the Mary's bedroom,

and the family's dining room...

The Kitchen

"in the servants' quarters, the kitchen runs as a separate domaine ruled by Mrs Patmore. The cook and her maids work the longest days, keeps their own hours and even eat apart from the other servants. With a constant flurry of activity, the kitchen is a hot, busy place to work - today's preparation for luncheon begins as soon as breakfast has been served. Small wonder Mrs Patmore has a short fuse. But with the footmen coming in and out to fetch the dishes for the dining room, the kitchen maids Ivy and Daisy find some spare time for romantic intrigue too..."

from exhibition display

The Servants' Hall

- "it is one room with many functions for those who work in the house. After an early start luncheon provides welcome rest and a chance for gossip, as well as food. Between tasks, Thomas puts his feet up, Mrs Baxter catches up on some sewing and Molesley reads his book. If they are needed by the family, they know it they will hear the bell board, which dominate the room. Their bedrooms are to far away for a quick rest. But here they can enjoy a breather, write their letters, dance by piano, even enjoy some romance..."

Bedroom Moments

"Mary, who has lived in the same bedroom for all of her adulthood, has seen moments of high drama and romance behind her close door - the death of Kemal Pamuk, her early married days with Matthew and, much later, contentment with Henry as her second husband. She has also stated many confidences with Anna in here. Edith has her own slice of bedroom drama when fire breaks out and she is rescued by Thomas. Perhaps one of the saddest moment was the death of the Labrador, Isis,
in Robert and Cora's bed."

Dining at Downton Abbey

"In the dining room, the family gathers three times a day, sometimes with guests, not just to eat but also to talk. While the family is eating, the butler and the footmen must remain in the room, standing silently by the wall. These can be long hours - up to seven courses in not unusual for a white tie dinner. Eavesdropping is surely their just reward. For all their British reserve, around the Downton dining table we have heard gossip, arguments, revelations and flirtations from the Crawleys."

Dining Room - Place Settings

"There was a rule of hierarchy when it came to placement around a dining table. The lord and lady of the house would sit opposite each other in the middle of the long sides - as a King and Queen would today. The grandest lady would sit on the host's right, the grandest man on the hostess's right. If the guests had titles, then the order was easily done - a duke outranks an earl, a marchioness outranks a countess, and so on. It could be more complicated when there were no titles to make the decision but a skilled hosted would manage."

Table Protocol

"At a house like Downton Abbey, diners were served 'a la Russe' - that is, the footmen brought the dishes around for them to help themselves from the left. The hostess would turn to the person on one side for the first course, and each woman would follow her lead. She 'turned' to the other side when the next course was served, ensuring no one was left out of conversation. At the end of a dinner, the hostess stood first and the ladies followed her out for coffee in the drawing room.
The men remained behind for a glass or two of port."

What is for dinner today?

Printanier

(soup made with spring vegetables)

❧

Beef Fillet

Potatoes,

Yorkshire Pudding

Salad

❧

Gooseberry pie

Cream

❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈ ❈

Fashion and Costume

At Biltmore Legacy in Antler Hill Village there are more than 50 costumes from the Downton Abbey series presenting fashions of the post-Edwardian time.

At the beginning of series at Downton Abbey in 1912 the members of Lord Grantham Family were wearing Edwardian fashions: floor-length dresses and corsets for women;

suits with stiff-collared shirts for the men.

In the 1920s there was a change in fashion: corsets were banished by many young women and hems rose, bringing new attention to legs and shoes,

for evening as well as during the day.